The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Chiquita’. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. This new cultivar is part of a planned breeding program to develop dwarf Echinacea hybrids. This cultivar was selected for its compact free flowering habit with light pink inflorescences. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrid plants.
Compared to Echinacea ‘Amber Mist’ (U.S. Pat. No. 21,811), the new cultivar has larger inflorescences and light yellow ray florets rather than yellow orange.
This new Echinacea cultivar is distinguished by:                1. light yellow ray florets,        2. numerous, 10 cm wide inflorescences,        3. a well branched, upright, dwarf habit, and        4. excellent vigor.        
This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.